Love Is Indispensable

By Rice-Ball247

Summary: Draco Malfoy didn't know anything about love, Harry concluded. The reason as to why he was giving him a chance was beyond his own understanding, but now it seems that Draco is the one teaching Harry how to love. Draco/Harry

Rice-Ball247: Final chapter of Love Is Indispensable. -smiles sadly- But on a lighter note, thanks to everyone who reviewed so far!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters involved, JK Rowling does.

Epilogue

It had been roughly one year since Harry and Draco had gotten engaged. As promised, the two were happily married and lived together in a reasonably sized home on the Malfoy Estate, just a few minutes away from the Manor. The Malfoy's were fine with not having the event publicized and had only given The Quibbler an exclusive interview. Years of experience had taught both Harry and Draco that The Daily Prophet, despite been a well-marketed newspaper, tended to put a biased spin in whatever they wrote about Harry and Draco. The brunet guessed that they might have actually mentioned Draco's history and the Malfoy's association with Voldemort. He didn't even have to get started on what they might have talked about him.

The year had not been smooth sailing. With Harry's temper and Draco's ability at being annoying at times, they often found themselves at each other's throats yet again. On many occasions, Draco ended up sleeping on the couch, sometimes of his own decision, sometimes by force of Harry. Once or twice, Draco had said something that had caused Harry to not speak to him for weeks on end, but they got over it soon enough and were even more passionately in love. After all, absence, as they say, makes the heart grow fonder, and Harry had missed Draco indeed.

Currently, Harry and Draco Potter-Malfoy were enjoying the mid-Spring weather, after the winter solstice had moved on. The snow had melted away once sunlight and warmth became a dominant aspect of the weather. As promised the year before, Draco had taken Harry back to Malfoy Manor to see the garden that Narcissa loved.

Harry had been in absolute awe at the beauty of it. The variety of flowers ranged from lilac and orange cosmos to marigold, morning glory and zinnia to sunflowers and honeysuckle. Draco had blindfolded him (Harry rolled his eyes at the cheesiness of the situation), but he found himself delighted when Draco had held him, still blindfolded, whispered that he loved him in his ear and then promptly removed the cloth covering his eyes. Harry's mouth had literally dropped.

In the centre of the greens and the explosive variety of colours was a large fountain, with marble angels that were charmed to float above the surface and spout streams of crystalline water into the pool below. There were also the usual albino peacocks that roamed about, and Harry was able to admire the sheer beauty of the graceful creatures. Draco brought him over to one and Harry allowed himself to touch the beautiful birds.

"Come, love," Draco purred in his ear, causing Harry to shiver. Draco wrapped an arm around his waist and led him towards the fountain. Once they arrived, Draco waved his wand and the concealment spell disappeared. Harry felt his knees buckle when he sighted the blanket and picnic basket that were revealed.

"Draco…" Harry began as he was tugged down atop Draco's lap. He allowed himself to be pulled into his husband's gentle embrace as the blond pulled the basket closer. Draco peppered kisses to the side of his neck as he unlatched the lid and opened it. Harry pulled away to peer into the basket. A niggling feeling told him that it was obviously charmed. "What's for lunch, dear?"

Draco chuckled warmly and pulled out plates, cups and cutlery first. Harry moved to sit beside him as more food was revealed – sandwiches, pastries, muggle crisps and many wizarding favourites, such as Pumpkin Pasties and Cauldron Cakes. A bottle of butterbeer was pulled out as well as some pumpkin juice. Draco filled their plates and signaled for Harry to start eating.

Harry bit into a sandwich and was delighted by the taste. He commented on it and, upon seeing his husband's cheeks flush, realized that Draco had been the one to make this all. "You seriously made all this?"

Draco pouted. "Why not?"

Harry laughed and pecked him on the cheek. "Well, if I remember correctly, the first time you cooked something for me, which was actually that 'Sorry, Harry' cake, it looked rather…" Harry trailed off, hinting to Draco what he meant. Draco rolled his eyes and punched him gently on the shoulder.

"Well, if I remember correctly, YOU devoured it just as passionately as you devoured me," Draco chuckled when Harry flushed pink. They sat in companionable silence as they ate, occasionally breaking it to make small talk. Harry continued to admire the garden from where he sat, listening to the singing of birds and the gentle trickle of the water in the fountain. He'd never breathed in air that was so fragrantly sweet, yet at the same time so clear. It was very refreshing. Harry drank a few cups of pumpkin juice before opting for some butterbeer.

He settled himself in Draco's lap and leaned comfortably against his husband's chest. Draco's chin rested upon his head and when he spoke, Harry could feel the slightly pointed chin bop up and down against his crown.

"Harry, there's something I wanted to talk to you about," Draco began, moving his head to rest in the junction of Harry's neck. The brunet nodded. He knew exactly what Draco had been wanting to ask. Briefly, his mind flitted back to their first month of dating and the incident with the seventh years Gryffindors. His cheeks flushed at the memory, and then deepened when he realized what Draco now wanted.

"What is it?" Harry whispered, feeling soft lips press against his temple. He waited patiently while Draco shuffled about, obviously uncomfortable. Did he not feel confident in asking Harry? "Draco?"

Draco didn't answer and seemed content to just hold Harry in his arms. Harry allowed his eyes to drift shut and he dozed lightly in Draco's embrace for an afternoon nap. By the time he had woke up, Draco was watching him intently, stroking his face and running a soothing hand through his hair. Harry felt lulled into a daze, his eyes drifting shut again.

"Draco? What did you want to tell me?" Harry asked groggily as he leaned into Draco's touch. Draco's hand stopped and Harry knew that it went into his own blond locks, probably in frustration.

"I don't know how to say this without sounding crude…" Draco mumbled, a faint blush on his cheeks. That snapped Harry out of his trance and he leaned up on his forearms, grinning. Draco saw this and rolled his eyes, his lips twisting into a wry kind of smile. "Then again, I'm a Slytherin and you're the Gryffindor. None of us are Hufflepuffs, so I might as well get this over and done with, right?"

Harry nodded eagerly, his grin widening. Draco sighed and shook his head, his grey eyes glittering in a maddening sort of way. Harry watched as Draco flushed again. It couldn't have been an odd request, right? Draco had his 'sexual prowess' and reputation, Harry understood that, so why was he having such a hard time asking? It was just something he felt that he knew Draco would ask of him, so he'd already braced himself for the question.

In fact, the thought of consummating their relationship had been running through Harry's mind for the past month or so, and even before then, Harry had had dreams of Draco, of doing things with Draco. And they rarely went away. He felt dirty, at first, but eventually, Harry came to accept that he was lusting after his fiancé, no problem there. And now that they were married, he didn't see what the problem was in claiming what was a right to him. To the both of them. He watched Draco shift uncomfortably yet again. Draco was usually very still, so for him to fidget like this, must have been indicative of his frantic nerves.

"I…I…" Draco, despite what was previously said, felt really dirty having to ask Harry this, but really…

Harry shook his head with a soft smile on his face and placed a warm hand on Draco's arm. "Draco, I just want to let you know that I'm ready. So if you aren't, I'll be willing to wait."

This caused Draco to splutter in surprise, his alabaster cheeks flushing a deeper shade of red. Harry likened him to being sun-burnt, only not as ugly. Draco stilled and finally, a proper reaction, he nodded. Harry grinned, bolted up and then ran to the fountain.

"Harry what are you- gah!" Draco shouted as Harry cupped his hand into the fountain and splashed the water onto Draco. His blond-haired husband glared playfully from where he sat before suddenly disappearing with a loud crack. Harry blinked before he heard another crack and then a splash. Before he knew it, he felt arms wrap around his waist and was promptly tossed backwards into the fountain. He let out a disgruntled 'oof' as he landed and shivered when the cold water soaked his clothes and cooled his heated skin. Draco sat atop him, a large grin spread across his face. Harry smiled as he sat up and wrapped his arms around Draco's neck.

"You should smile a lot more often," Harry murmured; the smile on his lips still remained when he kissed Draco soundly.

And now, he told himself, I really do understand why I gave him a chance in the first place. I love him.

LOVE is a happy thing.
It makes us laugh.
It makes us sing.
It makes us sad.
It makes us cry.
It makes us seek the reason why.
It makes us take.
It makes us give.
Above all else it makes us LIVE.

The End!

Rice-Ball247: Wah! This is really the end. My first completed story. I want to thank EVERYONE who took the time to leave at least one review, and for those who have reviewed multiple times, you know who you are, I really appreciate that you guys took the time to read and review my story.

Poetic Folly, keisan, NaRuKo77, jinjin9208, DreamsReality, animegurl088, Murgy31, Anna, dgpolo, demon-girl98, GrlWithoutAName, JuicyJoJo14, DramaQueen1193, Rachel, suki53, I r e n ii and Deedochan.

The poem at the end was taken from http // www (dot) bellaonline (dot) com / articles / art3051 (dot) asp

The constant Love Is etc etc was taken from the Bible! 1 Corinthians 13:4 - Love Is Indispensable.

suki53: I figured that everyone would think that Lucius would be less accepting of the relationship than Narcissa, so I wanted to twist things around a bit. Plus, even if no one else saw it, I was hinting at one of my other fave pairings, Lucius/Harry, but on a completely platonic level. As for everyone else, they've already accepted the relationship, because really, everyone has taken a turn for the better. To be honest, I just wanted to make a completely fluffy oneshot, but it turned into this.